


A Midsummer Naming

by Morvidra



Category: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Gen, Gods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 06:20:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17861969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morvidra/pseuds/Morvidra
Summary: Why was Sarralyn's naming ceremony held at Trebond, anyway? Rispah and Eleni discuss logistics.





	A Midsummer Naming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheSecondBatgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecondBatgirl/gifts).



> One of Aly's visions in Trickster's Choice involves the naming of Daine and Numair's first child, which takes place at Trebond on a Midsummer's Day. Naturally I wondered who had had to talk Rispah and Coram into hosting it. I hope you enjoy!

“The Goddess tests us mightily sometimes,” Eleni muttered to herself as she entered the castle gates. 

Her niece Rispah had greeted her with a hug and refrained from asking questions until Eleni was settled in her rooms and had been supplied with a pot of tea. Eleni offered up silent thanks that her niece, at least, possessed a certain amount of tact.

Even Rispah’s patience was not endless, however.

“What brings ye here, Aunt?” she asked “Not that ye aren’t welcome, of course, but ‘twas a sudden urge ye had to visit, and I wondered what might be the cause.”

Eleni swallowed another mouthful of tea. “I did want to see you and the children, of course,” she began. “But I will admit, I am here as an emissary.”

Rispah’s eyes narrowed. “Of earthly forces, would that be?”

“Earthly… and unearthly, both,” Eleni said, and sighed. “You may remember that I was a priestess at the temple of the Great Mother in my youth.”

“Aye, I recall hearin’ of that,” Rispah acknowledged. She didn’t comment on the fact that Eleni had been cast out of the temple after the birth of her son, although she must have known it. The family as a whole had been scathing in their condemnation of Eleni’s actions, and even as a young child Rispah must have heard the talk. 

That hadn’t prevented her turning up on Eleni’s doorstep as soon as she turned sixteen. Rispah had never talked about what had caused her to seek out her most disreputable relatives, and Eleni had never asked. In return, Rispah had never once alluded to Eleni’s own past.

Shaking off the dream-cloud of memory, Eleni recalled the present situation to mind. “I’ve been asked to perform a naming ceremony at Midsummer. The circumstances are a little… unusual, and I wanted to ask your permission to perform the ceremony on Trebond soil.”

“Unusual how?” Rispah asked, her face sharpening as she focussed on the situation. “And who’s been doin’ the askin’?”

“King Jonathan politely requested it,” Eleni said. “Alanna sent me a letter, as well. And… the Great Mother Goddess herself has spoken to me on the subject.”

Rispah made a small sign – Eleni though it was intended to ward off the attention of any watching gods. She could hardly blame her niece. Divine intervention in one’s life was nothing like the ballads made it sound.

“The Goddess has made it clear to me that she still regards me as one of Her priestesses,” Eleni continued. She couldn’t help the small glow of pride that filled her at those words, although she concealed it hastily by taking a sip of tea. “And she asks that I perform this naming ceremony.”

“Right, ye might as well be out with it,” Rispah said after a short pause. “Whose child is bein’ named, and why is it needin’ to be done here?”

Eleni set down her teacup. “The child is the offspring of Numair Salmalin and Daine Sarrasri.”

“The Wildmage,” Rispah said flatly.

Eleni nodded.

“Explains why ye asked to perform it on Trebond ‘soil’, anyhow,” Rispah muttered. “The wild beasts will be attendin’ as well, will they?”

“A number of them, yes.” Eleni pulled a sheet of parchment from her belt pouch and passed it to Rispah. “I was given this – very incomplete, I have no doubt – list of guests.”

Rispah’s lips pursed and her brows rose. “Lords. Knights. Mages. University professor and pet skeleton. _Stormwings_.”

“The Stormwings will _not_ need to stay at the castle,” Eleni assured her.

“And a small dragon.” Rispah puffed out a breath of air. “Ye dinna do things by halves, do ye? Still, I think we can manage to find room for this lot.”

“Thank you,” Eleni said gratefully. “However, there are just one or two small details further…”

“The surprise of it,” Rispah said under her breath.

“The Wildmage is, as I’m sure you know, a shapeshifter.”

Rispah was quick on the uptake. “Shapeshifters start young, do they?”

“This one certainly has,” Eleni admitted. And given the speed and, ah, _variety_ of its transformations, I think Daine, Numair and the child had better be accommodated in a large tent, rather than inside the castle.”

“Be easier on the clean-up, too,” Rispah agreed. “And what would the _other_ ‘small detail’ be?”

Eleni mentally cursed her niece’s retentive memory. “The Wildmage’s parents will also be attending the naming. They will not need accommodation – they will be here purely for the ceremony.”

Rispah frowned. “I don’t know as I ever heard of her havin’ parents about, but in any case, ‘tis a long way for them to come, just to leave again straightaways.”

“Daine’s parents,” Eleni said cautiously, “are known as Weiryn the Hunter and the Green Lady.”

“Gods.” Rispah’s voice was flat.

Eleni sighed. “Minor northern gods, yes.”

“If we invite them into Trebond – onto our northern soil – will that give them free passage to return whenever they wish?” Rispah asked urgently. She leaned forward, catching her aunt’s eye with her own. “Gods are tricky creatures. What guarantee can ye give that they will leave after?”

“The Great Gods bound both of Daine’s parents to the Divine Realms when Weiryn petitioned to have Daine’s mother made into a goddess after her death.” Eleni ignored Rispah’s small snort. “The Goddess has granted them special permission to attend their grandchild’s naming. Otherwise, they may not enter the mortal realm for a span of one hundred years.”

“Hundred years from the start of the war…” Rispah appeared to be calculating on her fingers. “Eighty or ninety years more, I make it.” 

She thought a moment, then nodded. “We’ll host the naming, and risk the gods. But though I’ll not be around to see it if they return, they may be sure my many-times grandchildren will know to keep an eye peeled. Ye canna trust gods,” she said firmly. “They’ve always some plan of their own.”

Eleni, returned priestess of the Great Mother Goddess, rather agreed.


End file.
